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Speed?

I'm working on starting a pedicab business and I'm trying to project the number of customers I can expect/ serve.

Please tell me the average speed a cab travels and what distance the cab can cover in say... 10 minutes. My territory is a beach town with moderate to heavy car traffic, some inclines and wide streets.

I have heard often drivers of Main Street Pedicabs get up to speeds of 15 mph. This is when driving on flat terrain and with a smooth road surface. The larger the wheel, the lower the rolling resistance. (MSPs have the larger 26 inch front and back wheels.) Typically, however, pedicabs go at slower speeds due to short distances travelled, some degree of road incline, and the circumstances of the surrounding traffic.
Ruth

You should not worry about how fast you can go. These bikes are not built for speed. These bikes provide a unique way for passengers to get from point A to B. What you also want to do is gauge the foot traffic in the area you want to patrol. Because contrary to popular opinion your biggest competition is a person deciding they would rather walk Not if they want to take a taxi instead. What would be nice if there are two or more popular points the people like to go to then you could shuttle the people back and forth.
The other thing I want to know is a place where young adults gather because they are the ones that will want to take a ride in your pedicab. Most older people say in the 48 to 60 range will not want to ride with you. That has been my experience the reasons vary but the bottom line for me is I do not concentrate on that group. I do how ever say hello to them when they do look my way. Always show respect to your elders. I drive a velocab and I think it is the best cab money can buy. But you should look into buying a used cab first to see if the area you want to ply your trade is the right location for you. All I can say to you is good luck to you if you follow through with your idea. Just Do It!

Not speed but quality

Originally Posted by rgreen04

Please tell me the average speed a cab travels and what distance the cab can cover in say... 10 minutes.

We work on around 5-8miles per hour (walking is around 5mph), as this provides a nice pace and calm trip, once you start to go above 15mph passengers tend to get a bit jumpy and you tend to get quite blown out, not a good way to work 5 days a week.

My personal point of view is to charge as much as they are happy to pay and to do the trip at my speed - calmingly slow . A gent who introduced me and still makes more money then me, told me it's not speed that counts, it's how slow you can make the ride for them to have time to enjoy & pay extra.

(think about it - if I fix your bike in 2mins and charge £50 or if I take 1hr and charge the same which one would you think is better value? )

Me and a certan South African rider were waiting at Mary Poppins and I comented that I was going to get 20£ from the theater as I was having a slow night. Along came a fella who was a bit drunk, he asked how to get to the Ice Bar, I told him I would take him. He asked how much and I said 20 quid and in he got, mean while the South African fella was pissing himself laughing I would usually charge 12 to 15 quid for 2 ppl. going the same distance